WAYNE ROONEY will quit English football if the persecution of him and his family does not stop, friends warned last night.

The 19-year-old goes into the biggest match of his career at the Millennium Stadium today close to despair about the treatment meted out to him.

Family and advisers have grown increasingly bewildered by those such as FIFA president Sepp Blatter joining in the criticism. They are desperate to make critics understand he is a teenager trying to cope with "waking up on a different planet" after being catapulted into a millionaire's world from his home on a Croxteth housing estate.

They are upset a generosity of spirit matching the famed largesse of Paul Gascoigne appears to have gone totally unnoticed.

And they say living under the kind of intolerable pressure Rooney endures will force him abroad unless it stops.

Rooney has had a brilliant first season at Old Trafford, particularly as he missed pre-season training with the foot injury sustained at Euro 2004.

Spectacular goals and intelligent support play have been the brightest element of a desperately disappointing season for United.

But if Rooney has become a hero in Manchester, he continues to be vilified by snobs in the establishment because of his background and language.

In a bizarre tirade last week, Blatter said Rooney needed "a clip round the ear" to make him behave better.

Before that, English Schools FA chief executive John Read said Rooney had been dropped as the star guest at an under-13s match because he did not consider him a good role model.

Rooney's mum Jeanette has been forced to take time off work as a school dinner lady because she has become so upset by the criticism of her son. His grandmother, Pat Morrey, wrote a letter to a newspaper pleading with the public to see Rooney's good side.

Rooney has had to deal with constant hounding from paparazzi. His Cheshire home is constantly surrounded by them and one agency detailed two of their men to trail him 24 hours a day. One of them was cautioned last week for harassment.

As he prepared to spearhead United's attack against Arsenal in today's FA Cup Final, Mirror Sport was given a rare insight into the real Rooney.

Behind all the bad headlines, he has quietly committed himself to a number of good causes, many in his native Liverpool.

Among other acts, he has:

"Wayne is always very honest and open and caring with the kids when he comes in to see them," Alder Hey fund-raising manager, Christine Done said last night. "He makes his visits quietly and without any fuss. There is no entourage with him. No press. Nothing like that.

"He's incredibly generous. Whatever we ask for, we get. We asked for his boots from Euro 2004 and it was 'no problem, they're yours'.

"People are too busy bashing him to stop and think he might have a decent side. He donates money as well as his celebrity, which is pretty rare.

"As far as we're concerned, he's a credit to his family, to his team and to the city where he was born."